Please
Read John chapter 11
Key
Verse:
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days
longer in the place where He was”
John 11:5,6
[ESV]
Here is
a simple sentence with a verb, “loved,” a subject, “Jesus,” and an object,
Martha, Mary and Lazarus! So uncomplicated! His love was without condition. It
was not love “because” or “if” or “when” or with a “but.” He simply loved them.
Their home was a place of refuge for Jesus and they were just like family. He
loved them.
The next
verse seems to contradict that love. When Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick He
deliberately does not come to them. News comes that Lazarus has died. They know
that Jesus could heal him but He seemed not to bother. Why didn’t He come? Had
he let them down? Didn’t He really care?
Mary
loved to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him but now she is sitting in
the house [verse 5], weeping, and when Jesus calls her to Him she falls at His
feet complaining, “If you had been here my brother would not have died!” Have
you been disappointed when Jesus didn’t seem to respond to your call for help? Have
you, like Mary, felt let down, and also like Mary, have not seen the greater
plan that Jesus had in that situation?
This is
where trust comes in, and where we look beyond our limited understanding to
recognize the sovereignty of a God who makes no mistakes! All things will work
together for good to those who love Him!
Questions:
Can you
remember a time when you asked the Lord to help you and He didn’t seem to hear?
How did you feel about Him then and what did you do?
When
things don’t work out as we had hoped will you become a better person or a
bitter person through that experience?
Like
Mary, don’t be afraid to complain to Jesus when you feel disappointed but will
you also ask Him to help you trust when you cannot see and hold on to Him when
you cannot trace what He is doing?
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